Wire-cutting attachment for milk-bottle-capping machines



WIRE CUTTING ATTACHMENT FOR MILK BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINES Filed May 24, 1922 A IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. 19,

A 1,569,894 PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAV STBANDT, 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOB TO MILWAUKEE DAIE SUPPLY MTG. 001, O1 MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION O1? WISCONSIN.

WIRE-CUTTING ATTACHMENT FOB MILK-BOTTLE-CAPPING MACHINES.

Application and m 24, 1922. Serial 110. 663,316.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUSTAV Srnanvr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Wire-Cuttin Attachments for Milk-Bottle-Capping'Mac ines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to wire cutting attachments for bottle capping machines.

It is well known that bottles, such as milk bottles, are frequently cappedin two distinct ways, namely, by inserting a circular pasteboard disk into the upper end of the ottle, and by covering the bottle end with a flexible piece of material and securing such material in position by means of a wire clamped around the neck of the bottle'and over such material. The usual practice in'-- opening these bottles is merely to tear the flexible material free from the bottle and to leave the wire ring about the neck of the bottle. It frequently happens, therefore, that when bottles are presented to the dairy for refilling that the 'wire rings are so nu- 'merous as to interfere with the convenient head of such machine; which will not needlessly complicate the structure of the machine; and which will function at the same time that the milk bottle capping machine,

functions.

whlch is of extremely simple des gn; which i is composed of a small number of parts;

which has readil removable wire cutting knives; and which will function automatically at each operation of the machine.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of the upper por tion of a milk bottle capping machine.

I on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing a bottle in osition.

Fig. 3 is a view om the under side of the machine. v

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the'line 44 of Fig. 3 showing the ring severing knife and mouutinli. p

in mi bottle capping machines it is customary to provide a su port, not shown, forthe bottle 1. A pair 0 standards 2, 2 project upwardly from such base and act as supports for the stationary or body port-ion 3 of the milk bottle capping. machine,- such body portion having holes through which the rods 2 project. The desired adustment of the ent1re device may beAretained y a pair of manually operated screws 4 which are threaded throu h the body portion and bind against the stan ards 2. A vertical rod 5 passes loosely through a hub 6 on the Fig. 2 is a section body portion 3, and is adapted. for vertical scription will not be given as its specific coni struction forms no part of the present invention. The bot le capping mechanism proper is movably related to the body portion 3 of the device, and is operated from a head 10 secured to the rod 5 in any of a plurality of positions of adjustment. A convenient means of secured this adjustment is by means of a slide 11 held to the head by means of a screw 12, and the headed pin 13.

This'slide is adapted to am into any one of a plurality of slots 14, ormed in the rod 5, and is locked in position by means of a removable in 15.

A secon rod 16 is secured by means of a split pin 17 to the head 10 and passes loose- 1y through a bushing 18 formed in the body portion 3. Y The lower end of this rod is secured as, for example, by means of a in 19 to a relatively small cross-head 20, which has a bearin portion 21 contoured to fit the rod 5. T is cross-head 20 has a pair of outwardly extending arms 22' and 23 which may be provided with guiding portions hav- 55 reciprocatory cross-head, a ring severing deing contoured surfaces and 26 adapted to contact with the. standards 2, and to further guide and support the cross-head. Knives in the, form of bell-crank levers having a downwardly extending arm 27 and a rearwardly extending arm 28 are pivotally mounted as indicated at 29 in the cross-head 20. The arm 27 is provided with a cutting edge 30 directed towards the bottle, and with a lower cutting edge 31 joining the first mentioned edge, and forming therewith a relatively sharp point. These knives, it will be seen from reference to the drawing, are so disposed that the weight of the arms 28 tends to throw them into contact with the bottle, thereby moving the cutting edges into contact with the bottle and allowing the point, formed by the cutting edges, to contact with the wire rings 32. It is desirable, however, to hold the knives away from the enlarged head 33 of the bottle 1. ThlS is accomplished by means of downwardly projecting plates 33', which may conveniently be secured, as indicated at 34, to the body portion 3 of the machine. It will be seen, therefore, that when the cross-head 20 moves downwardly, the curved surface of the arm 27 will slide along the lower end of the stri 33 and allow the knife to move inwardly below the curved bottom portion of the enlarged head 33 of the bottle.

The operation of the device is as follows:

When the milk bottle capping portion 7 moves downwardly, the cup-shaped members 8 engage the heads or tops of the bottles. At the same time the cross-head 20 moves downwardly, and the lower ends 27 of the bellcrank levers move inwardly towards the bottle, thereby pressing the cutting edges against the wire rings 32, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Upon further downward motion, the knives press the rings downwardl into their dotted line position shown in Fig. 2, and sever such rings,the rings being opened outwardly by the tapered portion of the bottle.

It will be seen, therefore, that a wire cutting attachment has been provided which will .automatically sever the wire rin s found about bottle necks, which may formed as a portion of the bottle capping machine, and which will act in unison therewith.

I claim: 1

1. In a bottle capping machinehaving a vice for removing the rings from the necks of bottles, said device comprising a ring cutting knife pivotally carried by said cross-head, means for moving said knife about said pivot in a direction radially outwardly of a bottle when said reciprocatory cross-head is in a normally retracted position and in a direction radially inwardly of said bottle when said cross-head is moved to bottle capping position, whereby to maintain said knife out of contact with said bottle during the initial movement of the 0mmhead toward the bottle, and means for holding said bottle during the ring severing operation.

2. In a bottle capping machine having a stationary member and a reciprocatory cross-head, a ring severing device comprising a knife pivotally carried by said cross- Iiead and means carried by said stationary member adapted to retract said knife when said cross-head is retracted from abottle and to permit said knife to move into contact with the bottle below the upper margin thereof when said cross-head is moved toward said bottle, and means for holding said bottle during the ring severing operation.

3. In a bottle capping machine having a stationary member and a reciprocatory cross-head, a ring severing device carried b said cross-head and com rising a kni e adapted for movement ra ially outwardly of a bottle beneath said capping machine, said stationary member having a portion disposed in the path of said knife when said cross-head is moved from said bottle, whereby to move said knife radially outwardly of said bottle when said cross-head is moved from said bottle, said knife being provided with means for automatically moving it toward said bottle when said cross-head is moved to bottle capping position, and means for holding said bottle during the ring severing operation.

4. In a milk bottle capping machine having a stationary member and a reciprocatory member, ring severing mechanism, said mechanism comprising a cutting knife pivotally carried by the reciprocatory member and having a weight arm adapted to raise said knife about its pivot, and a plate on said stationary member adapted to move said knife downwardly about its pivot, whereby when said reciprocatory member has moved away from a bottle therebeneath said knife will be withdrawn from contact with said bottle, and whereb when said reciprocatory member is move toward said bottle said knife will be moved to contact therewith for ring cutting operations, and means for holding said bottle during ring severing operation.

5. A combined milk bottle capping and wire severing machine comprising a. stationary member beneath which milk bottles are adapted to be positioned, reciprocatory means passing through said member, bottle capping mechanism carried by said reciprocatory means, supporting means mounted below said member and adapted to be moved upwardly and downwardly by said reci rocatory means, a knife pivotally carrie by said supporting means and having a biased portion extending toward a position outwardly of said machine, and knife retracting means mounted u on said stationary portion for contact wit said biased portion to guide said knife in its movement toward a bottle, whereby said knife will ass be neath the head of the bottle and wil engage find lsever rings carried by the neck of such ott e.

6. A combined milk bottle capping and ring severing machine comprislng standards, a manually adjustable, stationary member carried by said standards, a reciprocatory rod passing through said member, milk bottle capping mechanism operated from said reciprocatory rod, a cross-head guided by said ,rod and said standards,

means for communicating reciprocatory motion from said rod to said cross-head, a bellcrank lever pivotally mounted upon said cross-head and having an outwardly projecting arm and a downwardly projecting arm, said latter terminating in cuttin faces, and guiding means carried by sai stationary member and adapted to contact with the downwardly projecting arm to guide such arm and permit the cutting faces to be moved downwardly and outwardly upon reciprocation of said rod.

GUSTAV STRANDT. 

